Image forming apparatus having a switching member, a detachable unit, and a retracting member that retracts the switching member in a course of dismounting the unit

Abstract

An image forming apparatus including an apparatus main body including an image forming device that forms an image on a recording material, a unit detachably mounted in the apparatus main body, a switching member pivotably provided in the apparatus main body, wherein while in a state in which the switching member has entered into the unit mounted in the apparatus main body, the switching member selectively switches a route through which the recoding material is guided, and a retracting member provided in the apparatus main body, wherein in a course of dismounting the unit from the apparatus main body, the retracting member retracts the switching member to an outside of a mount area of the unit.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
 an apparatus main body including an image forming device that forms an image on a recording material; 
 a unit detachably mounted in the apparatus main body; 
 a switching member pivotably provided in the apparatus main body, wherein while in a state in which the switching member has entered into the unit mounted in the apparatus main body, the switching member selectively switches a route through which the recording material is guided; and 
 a retracting member provided in the apparatus main body, wherein in a course of dismounting the unit from the apparatus main body, the retracting member retracts the switching member to an outside of a mount area of the unit. 
 
     
     
       2. The image forming apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the retracting member is provided so that the retracting member can be abutted against or separated from the switching member, the retracting member being biased to a direction that retracts the switching member to the outside of the mount area of the unit, and 
 wherein in a course of mounting the unit in the apparatus main body, the retracting member is abutted against the unit and, countering biasing force, is separated from the switching member. 
 
     
     
       3. The image forming apparatus according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein in a course of dismounting the unit from the apparatus main body, the abutment between the retracting member and the unit is released, and the retracting member abuts against the switching member with the biasing force and retracts the switching member to the outside of the mount area of the unit. 
 
     
     
       4. The image forming apparatus according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein in a state in which the unit is mounted in the apparatus main body, the retracting member is separated from the switching member even when the switching member has been switched. 
 
     
     
       5. The image forming apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein a switching mechanism that selectively switches, in a state in which the unit is mounted in the apparatus main body, the switching member to a route through which the recording material is guided is provided separate from the retracting member. 
 
     
     
       6. The image forming apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the image forming device included in the apparatus main body is configured to form a toner image on a recording material, and the unit is a fixing device that fixes a toner image on a recording material. 
 
     
     
       7. The image forming apparatus according to  claim 6 ,
 wherein the fixing device is configured to perform fixing of a toner image on a recording material by pinching and conveying the recording material with a heating rotation member and a pressing rotation member while heating the recording material. 
 
     
     
       8. The image forming apparatus according to  claim 7 ,
 wherein the switching member is capable of being switched between a first guiding position that guides a recording material that has passed between the heating rotation member and the pressing rotation member to a first direction, and a second guiding position that guides the recording material to a direction different from the first direction. 
 
     
     
       9. The image forming apparatus according to  claim 8 , further comprising:
 a discharging member provided downstream of the fixing device in a conveyance direction of a recording material, the discharging member discharging the recording material; and 
 a reversing member provided downstream of the fixing device in the conveyance direction of the recording material, the reversing member reversing a rotation direction to convey the recording material in a reversed manner, 
 wherein the recording material that has passed between the heating rotation member and the pressing rotation member is guided in a discharging member direction with the switching member switched to the first guiding position, and is guided in a reversing member direction with the switching member switched to the second guiding position. 
 
     
     
       10. The image forming apparatus according to  claim 9 ,
 wherein in a case in which an image is formed on each of the two surfaces of the recording material, the recording material that has passed between the heating rotation member and the pressing rotation member is guided in the reversing member direction with the switching member switched to the second guiding position and, subsequently, is guided towards the image forming device once more by switching the switching member to the first guiding position and by reversing the rotation direction of the reversing member. 
 
     
     
       11. The image forming apparatus according to  claim 8 ,
 wherein in a course of mounting the fixing device in the apparatus main body, a front end of the switching member enters into the fixing device, and in a state in which the fixing device is mounted in the apparatus main body, the switching member is switched from the first guiding position to the second guiding position so that an amount of the front end entering the fixing device is the largest.